Sleeve-valve engine



Feb. 2, 11 332. J. HALTENBERGER I 1343,6712

SLEEVE VALVE ENGINE Original Filed Feb. 14, 1927 2 SheetS-Sheet 1 Feb. 2, 1932. J. HALTENBERGER I SLEEVE VALVE ENGINE Original Filed Feb. 14, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 601', la 5517 -74 75/1 5 5mm;

lllllda" Mom Patented Feb; 2, 1932 time ,AEES

ones netrnnnnnenn, or INDIANAPOLIS, nnranA, assrenon, BY nnsnn ASSIGN- nnmss, T Jos rn (3. screen, JR" or innmneronrs, INDIANA SLEEVE-VALVE enema Application .filed February14,-1927, Serial Ne. 167,986.' Renewed June 19 1931.

It is the object of my invention to produce an internal combustion engine in which a le v -va e o tro ing o the i e and exhaust of a cylinder is exposed externally rather than inter-nally to the pressures within the'cylinder, and has such pressures substantially balanced throughout its circum= ference; in which sleeve-valve utilizes all or substantially all of its circumference for controlling the inlet and exhaust con} nections to the cylinder;-in which such cyls inder pressure acts externally on the sleeve valve through a single chamber extending around the sleeve-valve and communicating witl the cylinder, which single chamber corn municates through ports 1n the sleeve-valve with both the inlet and exhaust conduits, at proper times in the cycle of en ine opera,- tion; in which the, sleeve-valve mechanism 6 desirably involves a single sleeve controlling both'inl'et and exhaust by a combined axial reciprocation and'circumferential oscillation,

which together produce a movement in a closed curve-d path of any point on the sleeve valve; in which the aforesaid single chamber surrounding the sleeve-valve is so shaped that it permits maximum freedom of flow for the gasesta nd also may serve as the compression space for the associated cylinder; and in wh ch suchchamber around the sleeve-valve des rably serves as the GXPlOSlQIl chamber, to giye a desirable action of flame propagation tending to reduce or avoid detonation and thus to make possible the'use of highercompre'ssion. i carrying out my invention in its preferred form, I provide an engine in which the piston travels directly against the cylinder wall, with no sleev ewali 'e interposed between them although the control is by a sleevevalve; desirably locate the piston stroke so that the piston comes substantially or very close to the cylinder head; provide sleevevalve mechanism, desirably single sleevevalve, apart from the cylinder and piston and arranged to control both the inlet and enhaust for the cylinder; in the preferred form of my invention locate this sleeve-valve the cylinder head, and arrange the aXis of the sleeve-valve transverse to theax'is of the cylinder although these features are-not essential to my invention in its broader aspects; provide a, chamber around the sleeve-valve and communicatingwith the cylinder and servin as the channel for both the intake and exhaust connections of thecylinder; pro vide the sleeve-valve with a core having both inlets-ind exhaust passages, which may be connected through suitable ports in the core and inthe sleeve-valve to said chamber, and

therethrough to the cylinder,'at the proper points in the engine cycle provide suitable driving mechanism for moving said sleeveva lvejiwith a combined axial reciprocation andcircumferential oscillation to ge of said chamber to the inlet and exhaust ports in the core; and desirablyprovide a spark plugin such chamber, most desirably on the opposite side thereof from that where itcommunicates with the cylinder, to make such chamber the explosion chamber of the cylinder.

invention is applicable to engines hat ing'an'y number of cylinders; bnt as the mechanism may merely be duplicated for various cylinders of the engine,'I have illustrated myinvention in connection with a single engine cylinder. I y

' The accompanying drawings illustrate my in'ventionz'llig. 1 is a vertical section trans verse to the crank-shaft throughan engine embodying my invention in i a preferred form gll ig. 2 is a fragmental horizontal sec tion substantially on the line 2- 2 of 1 to show wobble-crank on the valve-operating shaft of Fig. 1 Fig. a horizontal section substantially on the lines 3 3 of Figs 1 and l; is a fragmental vertical section substantially on the lines 4+4 of 1 and 3 andFig, 5 is a sectional view generally similar to Fig. 1, but showing ad'ifierent arrangement of the sl'eeve valive drive; the sleeve-valve ports, and the core passages, o

The-engine may have anynumber of cylinders 10,111 each of which there is a piston 11 connected by a connecting rod 12 to a crank of the crankshaft 13." The cylinder and various other parts of the engine may a u h control of the nlet and exhaust connections be kept cool in any desired way, as by providing water jackets 14 in suitable places. All these parts of the engine may be of any suitable type, and their details are not essential to my invention. However, with my invention the piston 11 travels more nearly to the top of the engine cylinder than is ordinarily the case on sleeve-valve engines, and desirably substantially to the top save for su'flicient space for clearance, as the compression space is provided elsewhere than in the cylinder itself.

In the preferred form of my invention, I provide this compression space by a chamber 20 in the cylinder head 21. This is a desirable location for this compression space. although my invention is not limited to this location. The cylinder head, which is desirably detachably mounted upon the cylinder proper, has a transverse cylindrical bore in which a sleeve-valve 22 is mounted, and the chamber 20 surrounds the sleeve-valve 22 at an intermediate part of the latter s length. This sleeve-valve, like the bore in which it is mounted, has its axis transverse to the cylinder axis in the desired form of my invention, and is provided with suitable ports 23 which control the inlet and exhaust connections for the chamber 20, and consequently for the associated cylinder, as the sleevevalve 22 moves. Thus the inlet of combustible mixture is through the ports of the sleeve-valve 22 into the chamber 20, and thence to the cylinder 10 as the piston 11 descends from its intake stroke; and the exhaust from the cylinder 10 on the exhaust stroke is from the cylinder into the same chamber 20, and thence through the ports 23 of the sleeve-valve 22 into the exhaust passages. The inlet and exhaust passages whose communication to the chamber 20 is controlled'by the sleeve-valve 22 will be descrlbed more fully below.

The chamber 20 is desirably of a shape best shown n Fig. 1. It desirably completely surrounds the sleeve-valve 22; desirably opens to the associated cylinder 10 for the full diameter of such cylinder on a plane perpendicular to the axis of the sleeve-valve (as is clear from Fig. 4:) is much narrower than the diameter of the cylinder in its dimension parallel to the sleeve-valve axis (Figs. 1, 3, and 5) to reduce its cubical capacity and therefore the size of the compression space which it furnishes for the cylinder, but is desirably located at the middle part of that diameter of the cylinder; and desirably has a radial dimension outward from the outside of the sleeve-valve that is nearly as large as its axial dimension to provide a passage with mini mum wall-resistance to the gas flow, but that is desirably slightly less than such axial dimension so that for a given cubical capacity the axial length of such chamber may be made longer to permit a greater axial length of the port 23 of the sleeve-valve. That is, the axial length of the chamber 20 controls the axial dimension of the ports 23 of the sleeve-valve, and to that extent controls the size of such ports; so that desirably the axial length of the chamber is made as great as possible without materially decreasing the radial dimension of the chamber 20 outward of the sleeve-valve beyond the condition of equality with the axial dimension that would give the theoretical minimum wall resistance to the flow of gases in the chamber 20. If such radial dimension is made too small, such flow of gases is hampered by the wall resistance; but a desirable compromise may be effected by slightly reducing such radial dimension from equality with the axial dimension in order that the axial dimension may be correspondingly increased to permit greater axial length of the ports 23.

The ports 23 of the sleeve-valve 22 control the connections of the chamber 20 to ports of inlet and exhaust passages provided in a stationary core 25 fitting within tne sleeve-valve 22. This core 25 is directly piloted at one end by mating surfaces 26 by which it fits within one end of the cylinder-head bore receiving the sleeve-valve 22; and is piloted at the other end by a ring 27 whichfits upon that end of the core and fits within the bore or an enlargement of the bore in the cylinderhead. This holds thecore 25 concentric with the bore of the cylinder-head; and the sleevevalve 22 has a sliding fit within such bore and upon such core. r

The inlet and exhaust passages in the core 25 may be variously arranged. Two such arrangements are shown in Figs. 1 and 5 respectively.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the inlet passage 30 and the exhaust passage 31 of the core are both axial passages, with Water jackets 32 around the exhaust passage. The inlet passage 30 opens at the right-hand end of the core (Fig. 1) into the inlet manifold 33; and the exhaust passage 31 of the core opens at the left-hand end of the core into an exhaust manifold 3 1. Both the inlet passage 30 and the exhaust passage 31 of the core are forked at the plane of the chamber 20, the inlet passage being forked vertically to supply upwardly and downwardly discharging inlet ports 35 and 36, and the exhaust passage being forked horizontally to be supplied by laterally opening exhaust ports 37 and 38. The four ports 35, 36, 37 and 38 are desirably arranged in the same plane transverse to the axis of the sleeve-, valve, so that they are all in the plane of and desirably substantially the full axial width of the chamber 20. With this arrangement of ports 35, 36,37, and 38, there are desirably two ports 23 in the sleeve-valve, which ports left-hand end of the core of Fig. 5.

valve is moved with a combined axial re c-iprocation and circiunferential oscillation so that each port 23 travels in a closed curved path which includes points of registry with the associated exhaust ports. and inlet ports:

of the core at the proper times. in the. cycle. The drawings show the parts in the position they occupy substantially at the point of plosion, with the piston at the end: of its up:

ward compression stroke.

in the arrangement shown in-Fig. 5, the inlet passage 30 and the exhaust passage 31'" not axial passages, but are arranged one above the other, as-is clearfrom the Both of these passages open at the left-hand end of the core, the'inlet passage 30. to. the inlet manifold 33.", and the exhaust passage 31' to. the exhaust manifold 3d. The exhaust passage 31 may beprovided with water jackets 82. The exhaust passage 31" is forked horizon-.- tally at the plane of the chamber 20, to. pro.- i'ile two. exhaust ports. at opposite sides of the core, Fig. 5. showing one of these ports: 3T. The two exhaust ports in this arrangement, however, are not 180 apart, as were the exhaust ports in the arrangement shown in: Fig; 1,. but are both slightly below the: horizontal, the port 31 is shown in Fig,

5'. The inlet passage 30 communicates with.

a downwardly directed inlet port 36, open-.

ing at the bottom. betweenthe two exhaust ports, and with one or more inlet ports 85 above the horizontal axis of the sleeve valve. Two of the inlet ports may be paired; with two, of the exhaust ports to. be con. trolled by double-purpose ports 23" in the associated sleevevalve 2.2; and if there is an additional inlet. port which cannot be so, paired, there may be an, additional singlepurpose inlet port 39 provided in the sleevevalve for controlling that additional inletport 35 of the core. Such an additional inletport provides. the additional inlet-port. area that is desirable for high-speed engines although in many respects I prefer to have an equal number of inlet and exhaust ports, as the arrangement shown; in Flg. 1.

The sleeve-valve 22 be given its com bined movement of circumferential oscilla-v tion and axial reciprocation by various devices, suitable for causing-opening; and clos ing of the exhaust ports and inlet ports of the core at the proper pohits in the cycle; Two such mechanisms are shown in Figs 1, and 5 respectively. Either of these valvedriving; mechanisms, may: be used fordrivi-ng the-s eeve-v ve Qt either Fig. 1 or-Fi 5, as; there is no direct. dependence ofeither form of-sleeve-valve on either specific form of valverdriving mechanism.

In the valve-driving mechanism shown in Fig; 1, there isa valve-operating shaft suitably connected to the crankshaft 13 to be driven at half crank-shaft speed. This valveoperating shaft 45, has a wobble-crank 46 for each cylinder. Eachsuch wobblecrank 46. crank which has its axis nonparallel and desirably non-co-planar with the axis of the valve-operating shaft, and per is not new withme in the present patent application. On each wobble-crank 4/5, is mounted avalve-connecting rod 47, which at its outer end is provided with a socket, 48, which receives a ball member 4-9 at one end of a lever 50 having a ball-and socket fulcrum 51 at an intermediate point.

of, its l ngth. Such-fulcrum is in a split block 52, shown as stationarilybut detachably mounted in a hole 53. extending upward alongside the associatedcylinder 10;. The lever 50 is desirably tubular for lightness; and slidably mounted in its upper end is a pin 54: carrying a ball member 55 co-operatingwith asoclret 56 mounted on the sleevevalve 22 at one end thereof.

In the operation of the engine, the crank shaft 13 drives the valve-operating shaft 45 theusual manner, and as such valve-operating shaft 45 rotates it moves the socket 4:8 and ball member 49 back and forth both transverse to the axis of such shaft 45 and along such axis, so that the ball member 49 travels a closed curved path. In consequence, the ball member 55 travels in a gen erall y corresponding closed curved path, and. moves the sleeve-valve 22 correspondingly so that such sleeve-valve has a combined axial reciprocation and circumferential oscillationto produce a closed-curved pathof movement of each sleeve-valve port. This closedcurved, path of movement carries-the parts 23' of the sleeve-valve into and out of co-operation with the ports of the coreat the proper points of the cycle.

In the valve-driving arrangement shown in Fig. 5, there is a valve-operating shaft 60 which is shown as driven at crank-shaft speed. This is connected by suitable worm-gearing 61 opposite each cylinder 10 to a shaft 62 ex tending parallel to that cylinder, the worm gearing being at the lower end of such shaft and being arranged to drive the shaft 62: at

half crank-shaft speed. This shaft 62 is V which carries it.

the shaft 62, either by sliding on the eccentrically located pin 64 or by having such eccentrically located pin 64 slide in the shaft-part This drive produces a combined movement of axial reciprocation and circumferential oscillation of the sleeve-valve 22, to cause registry of the various ports at the desired points in the cycle.

The chamber 20 serves both as a compression space and as a combustion space for the associated cylinder. To this end, in the preferred form of my arrangement, I provide a spark plug whose sparking points are located within the chamber 20. This spark plug desirably projects into the chamber 20 at the opposite side thereof from the cylinder 10, so that the sleeve-valve 22 and core lie between the spark and the cylinder. In consequence, ignition first occurs in the up per part of the chamber 20, above the sleevevalve 252, and the flames travel in the chamber 20 in both directions around the sleevevalve 22 to the cylinder 10 below. This provides a most desirable flame propagation, with a reduction or substantial. avoidance of detonation, making higher compression possible. It also tends to ke p the piston as a whole cooler, by exposing but part of its end surface to the first burning of the gases.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the inlet port 35 of the core discharges directly upward against the spark plug. This is of advantage in maintaining the spark-plug points cool and clean.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a cylinder, and a piston, of sleeve-valve mechanism, said engine having a chamber therein which is open to the cylinder and in which the sleeve-valve mechanism is externally exposed for substantially its entire circumference, and a core for said sleeve-valve mechanism, said core having inlet and exhaust passages, and said inlet and exhaust passages and said sleeve-valve mechanism being provided with co-operating ports by which said respective core passages may be connected to said chamber and therethrough to the cylinder as the sleeve-valve mechanism is operated.

2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination set forth in claim 1, with the addition that said sleeve-valve mechanism is a single sleeve-valve.

3. In an internal combustion engine, the combination set forth in claim 1, with the addition that said sleevevalve mechanism is a single sleeve-valve, and means for moving said single sleeve-valve with a combined axial reciprocation and circumferential oseillation.

4. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a cylinder, and a piston, of sleeve-valve mechanism, a cylinder head in which said sleeve-valve mechanism is slidably mounted, said cylinder head bein provided with a chamber which is open to t e cylinder and in which the sleeve-valve mechanism is externally exposed for substantially its entire circumference, and a core for said sleeve-valve mechanism, said core having inlet and exhaust passages, and said core sages and said sleeve-valve mechanism being provided with co-operating ports which by the movement of said sleeve-valve control the connections of said chamber to the respective core passages.

5. In an internal combustion engine, the combination set forth in claim 4, with the addition that said sleeve-valve mechanism is a single-sleeve valve.

6. In an internal combustionengine, the combination set forth in claim l, with the addition that said sleeve-valve mechanism is a single-sleeve valve, and means for operating said single-sleeve valve with a combined axial reciprocation and circumferential oscillation.

7. In an internal combustion engine, the combination set forth in claim 1, with the addition that each of said core passages has a plurality of ports circumferentially dis placed from one another and jointly controlled by the movement of said sleeve-valve to provide a multiple connection between that core passage and said chamber.

8. In an internal combustion engine, the combination set forth in claim l, with the addition that each of said core passages has a plurality of ports circumferentially displaced from one another and jointly controlled by the movement of said sleeve-valve to provide a multiple connection between that core passage and said chamber.

9. In an internal combustion engine, the combination set forth in claim 1, with the addition that each of said core passages has a plurality of ports circuinferentially displaced from one another and jointly controlled by the movement of said sleeve-valve to provide a multiple connection between that core passage and said chamber, said ports for the inlet and exhaust passages being interspersed circumferentially.

1.0. In an internal combustion engine, the combination set forth in claim l, with the ad dition that each of said core passages has a plurality of ports circumferentially displaced from one another and jointly controlled by the movement of said sleeve-valve to provide a multiple connection between that core passage and said chamber, said ports for the inlet and exhaust passages being interspersed circumferentially.

11. In an internal combustion engine. the combination set forth in claim 1, with the addition that each of said core passages has a plurality of ports circumferentially displaced from one another and jointly controlled by the movement of said sleeve-valve to provide a multiple connection between that core passage and said chamber, and one or more of the ports of said sleeve-valve being double-purpose ports co-operating with both an inlet port and an exhaust port of the core.

12. In an internal combustion engine, the combination set forth in claim -l, with the addition that each of said core passages has a plurality of ports circumferentially displaced from one another and jointly controlled by the movement of said sleeve-valve to provide a multiple connection between that core passage and said chamber, and one or more of the ports of said sleeve-valve being double-purpose ports co-operating with both an inlet port and an exhaust port of the core.

13. In an internal combustionengine, the combination with a cylinder, and a piston, of sleeve-valve mechanism having its axis transverse to the cylinder axis, a cylinder head in which said sleeve-valve mechanism is slidably mounted, said cylinder head being provided with a chamber which is open to the cylinder and in which the sleeve-valve mechanism is externally exposed for substantially its entire circumference, and a core for said sleeve valve mechanism, said core having inlet and exhaust passages, and said core passages and said sleeve-valve mechanism being provided with co-operating ports which by the movement of said sleeve-valve control the connections of said chamber to the respective core passages.

14. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a cylinder, and a piston, of sleeve-valve mechanism, said engine having a chamber therein which is open to the cylinder and in which the sleeve-valve mechanism is externally exposed for substantially its entire circumference, said sleeve-valve mechanism having its axis transverse to the direction in which said chamber'opens to the cylinder, and a core for said sleeve-valve mechanism, said core having inlet and exhaust passages, and said inlet and exhaust passages and said sleeve-valve mechanism being provided with co-operating ports by which said respective core passages may be connected to said chamber and therethrough to the cylinder as the sleeve-valve mechanism is operated. I

15. In an internal combustion engine, the

combination with a cylinder, and a piston,

of a single sleeve-valve having a combined axial reciprocation and circumterential'oscillation and constantly externally exposed to the pressure of the cylinder, and a core for said sleeve-valve, said core having inlet and exhaust passages whose connections to the cylinder are controlled by said single-sleevevalve.

16. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a cylinder, and a piston, of a single sleeve-valve having a combined axial reciprocation and circumferential oscillationand constantly externally exposed to the pressure of the cylinder, a core for said sleeve-valve, said core having inlet and exhaust passages whose connections to the cylinder are controlled by said single-sleevevalve, and a cylinder head in which said single-sleeve-valve is mounted.

17. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a cylinder, and a piston, of a single sleeve-valve having a combined axial reciprocation and circumferential oscillation and constantly externally exposed and a stationary core for said sleeve-valve,

said core having inlet and exhaust passages whose connections to said cylinder are controlled by said single-sleeve valve.

19. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder having a head, a piston reciprocable in said cylinder, said head being provided with a combustion chamber which communicates with the interior of the cylinder through an opening located centrally of the cylinder and lnving a width less than one-half the diameter of the cylinder, so that only a portion of the head of said piston will be exposed to the first-burning gas flames, the head of said piston having a substantially plane upper surface which closely approaches the combustion-chamber opening when the piston is at the end of its stroke.

20. The invention set forth in claim 1 with the addition that said. sleeve-valve mechanism is a single sleeve-valve and that said core is normally stationary in the operation of the engine, and means for moving said single sleeve-valve with a movement having an axial component.

21. In an internal combustion engine,the combination with a cylinder, and a piston, of

sleeve-valve mechanism, said cylinder having a pocket therein, said sleeve-valve mechanism extending through said pocket and being smaller than said pocket to provide an annular combustion chamber defined internally by the outer surface ofthe sleeve-valve mechanism, said annular combustion chamher being open to the cylinder at one side, a

core for said sleeve-valve mechanism, said core having a gas passage, said gas passage and said sleeve-valve mechanism being provided with co-operating ports by which the gas passage may be connected to the combustion chamber and therethrough t0 the cylinder as the sleeve-Valve mechanism is operated, and a spark-plug located in said conibustion chamber opposite the opening through which such chamber communicates with the cylinder.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 12th day of February, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven.

JULES HALTENBERGER. 

